Catching Monsters

Chapter 625 Finding a needle in a haystack
In recent days, the people of Yanzhou City have been in a state of panic.

First, the Embroidered Uniform Guards suddenly attacked the Xiang residence, and there were even rumors that the Xiang family head's eldest daughter had been captured by this vicious group of Embroidered Uniform Guards.

In the blink of an eye, the entire Xiang family was suddenly massacred, with more than seventy people all dying.

Currently, among the direct descendants, only Xiang Hui's daughter, Xiang Yeyun, and Xiang Huang's five sons are safe and sound.

Coincidentally, the Xiang family, a prominent clan, had strict family rules. Once it got dark, everyone had to return home, especially the men, who were forbidden from drinking and making merry outside. Drinking and merrymaking were the worst things for a person's will.

The Xiang family manages the younger generation, especially those with talent, very strictly.

Coincidentally, none of Xiang Huang's five sons returned home that night. Instead, some drank heavily, while others went to brothels.

Instead, they escaped unharmed.

Who says that eating, drinking, and having fun can harm one's willpower or health?

These five people, on the contrary, were safe and sound.

Jiang Yun and his group traveled day and night, and returned to Yanzhou City at noon three days later.

However, unlike the last time I came, the city gates of Yanzhou were now heavily guarded, with strict checks on anyone entering or leaving.

Suddenly, seeing a large group of Imperial Guards approaching, the commander of the city guards on the city gate changed his expression and hurriedly shouted, "Be on guard! Be on guard!"

In an instant, countless soldiers drew their bows and aimed them at the numerous Imperial Guards below.

Seeing this, Jiang Yun frowned slightly, then looked at Xiang Yeyun, who was riding a horse beside him.

"it's me!"

Xiang Yeyun, who was wearing a bamboo hat, took it off to reveal his face.

Xiang Yeyun was known to many people in Yanzhou City.

"Yes, Young Master Xiang has returned!" The commander paused for a moment, then shouted, "Open the city gates immediately!"

Although everyone in the city knew that Xiang Hui had given birth to a daughter, they couldn't stop Xiang Yeyun from dressing up as a man.

Everyone indulged her whims and addressed her as "Young Master".

The city gate slowly opened, and the commander led a large number of soldiers down from the gate to greet them.

Xiang Yeyun turned to look at Jiang Yun and said in a deep voice, "Lord Jiang, let's go."

Soon, the group of Imperial Guards, with Xiang Yeyun's permission, were able to enter the city safely.

Riding his horse, Jiang Yun asked with some curiosity, "Speaking of which, with such a big incident happening to your Xiang family, how can Xiang Hui stay in the capital with peace of mind?"

Jiang Yun originally thought that Xiang Hui's refusal to return to Yanzhou City with his group was because he wanted Jiang Yun to come back first to deal with the Xiang family's affairs.

However, during the conversation with Xiang Yeyun along the way, it seemed that Xiang Hui had no intention of returning to Yanzhou City at this time.

Instead, what would they do if they stayed in the capital?

Xiang Yeyun glanced coldly at Jiang Yun and said in a cold voice, "If you cannot prove your innocence, my father will kill your whole family immediately."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun smiled faintly, just as he had done all the way with Ye Yun.

However, Jiang Yun knew in his heart that Xiang Hui's stay in the capital was not just to threaten his family; he probably had other important matters to attend to.

This matter was even more urgent and important than returning to oversee the massacre of his entire family.

It seems that handling the funeral arrangements for these family members has been left to Xiang Yeyun.

Xiang Yeyun had been silent the whole way, but now that they had arrived in Yanzhou City, he looked somewhat anxious.

Soon after, Xiang Yeyun arrived at the Xiang residence with a large number of Imperial Guards.

At this time, white lanterns had already been hung on both sides of the Xiang family's gate, and the clan elders who had heard that Xiang Yeyun had returned were already waiting at the Xiang family's gate.

When Xiang Yeyun arrived, he saw a lot of people standing at the entrance of the Xiang family's house, including Xiang Huang.

At this moment, Xiang Huang's face was grave, and he remained silent.

The most respected elder in the Xiang family slowly stepped forward. This man was Xiang Yisheng, the uncle of Xiang Hui and Xiang Huang.

Originally, Xiang Yisheng should have been the clan leader in the previous generation, but he knew that his cultivation was not enough, so he gave the position to Xiang Hui and Xiang Huang's father.

"Grandpa Xiang." After dismounting, Xiang Yeyun quickly performed a junior's greeting and then asked, "My mother..."

"Sigh." Xiang Yisheng sighed softly, shook his head and said, "Your mother's coffin is still inside. Hurry up and go in to take a look."

"mother!"

Xiang Yeyun shouted and rushed into the Xiang residence.

Jiang Yun, Qi Da, and the others were about to follow them in when Xiang Yisheng raised his hand to stop them. His eyes darkened, and he slowly asked, "Please wait, everyone. What are you doing back with Xiang girl?"

Xiang Yisheng's face clearly showed hostility.

It should be noted that the evidence left at the scene was suspected to have been done by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Jiang Yun said politely, "Sir, we have been entrusted by Xiang Hui to come and thoroughly investigate the case of the massacre of more than seventy members of the Xiang family."

"Hmph, what business is it of your Imperial Guards to investigate the affairs of my Xiang family?" Xiang Yisheng gripped his cane tightly.

However, another elder spoke up, saying, "Since they returned with Ye Yun, why don't we ask Ye Yun about the situation first?"

Xiang Yisheng nodded slightly. Soon, someone went in to inquire about Xiang Yeyun and then came back to whisper a few words in his ear.

After listening, Xiang Yisheng took a deep breath and stepped aside, indicating that he wanted the group of Imperial Guards to go in.

"Enter."

Jiang Yun waved his hand and then strode inside. In the huge courtyard of the Xiang family, there were more than seventy coffins. At this moment, Xiang Yeyun was kneeling in front of a coffin, crying bitterly.

Jiang Yun remained expressionless and turned to ask, "Sir, after the murder, no one should be wandering around inside, right?"

Xiang Yisheng said slowly, "Apart from the people in our clan who are in charge of investigating this case, no one else is moving around freely."

"Is there anyone in your clan responsible for investigating this matter?"

“It is I.” Xiang Huang stepped forward, a smile on his face.

Qi Da, standing next to Jiang Yun, asked, "Are all the Xiang family members living in the Xiang residence dead? Not a single one is alive?"

"Yes, I do." Xiang Huang gave an awkward wry smile, coughed, and said, "Apart from Ye Yun, my five sons are all safe and sound."

Upon hearing this, Zidane's gaze towards Huang became noticeably strange: "What a coincidence?"

Inside the Xiang family mansion, almost the entire clan was wiped out, yet none of the man's five sons escaped unscathed. Following standard investigative logic, Xiang Huang should be the first suspect.

Xiang Huang felt uncomfortable under Qi Da's gaze and quickly said, "Don't look at me like that, this has nothing to do with me."

Qi Da glanced at Jiang Yun and said, "Sir, based on our experience in handling cases with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, in such cases, the person whose family members are unharmed is the most suspicious."

"Even if he didn't do it, he's probably involved in this matter."

"Perhaps..."

When Xiang Huang saw that the group of Imperial Guards had arrived, they immediately suspected him. He was damned to be unjustly killed.

His own son was a good-for-nothing who went out to eat, drink, gamble, and whore, yet he escaped unscathed. How else could he explain this?

Of course, it's no wonder that Zidane was suspicious; even within the Xiang family, there was much gossip about it.

While it's not fair to say that Xiang Huang was responsible, it's still strange that his son is unharmed.

Seeing this, Xiang Huang took a deep breath and said, "I wasn't in Yanzhou City when this happened! I was in the capital!"

"Jiang Yun can vouch for me!"

When Xiang Huang said this, many people present were stunned and looked at him strangely.

The main reason was that the Xiang family members all knew that the patriarch, Xiang Hui, had gone to the capital to deal with Jiang Yun, so why was Xiang Huang also there?

It seems he also met Jiang Yun.

Jiang Yun nodded and said to Qi Da beside him, "Xiang Huang was indeed in the capital at that time."

After saying that, Jiang Yun walked to Xiang Yeyun's side and said, "Please accept my condolences. The most important thing now is to find the real culprit."

Fortunately, it was just after the New Year, and the weather in the north was still quite cold. Most of the corpses were still well preserved. Soon, five experts from the Embroidered Uniform Guard who were skilled in autopsy walked back and forth among the many coffins to check the condition of the corpses.

Xiang Yisheng, who was following behind, frowned and said to Jiang Yun, "Our Xiang family has already examined these corpses. They were killed with a knife, each blow fatal to the throat. This person was a master of the knife."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun's gaze fell on the other party: "A master of the knife? All of them were killed by the same method?"

"Yes, all of them died in remarkably similar ways."

The autopsy process was lengthy, and all bodies needed to be examined. The Embroidered Uniform Guard was extremely professional in this regard.

During this time, Xiang Yeyun had cried until she was almost done. Her only request was that the Imperial Guards not touch her mother's corpse.

Jiang Yun nodded in agreement.

Xiang Yeyun's eyes were red as she stared intently at Jiang Yun. Her only thought at that moment was how she could kill Jiang Yun if he was the murderer.

Jiang Yun calmly approached a pool of blood, on which was written, 'This is the consequence of offending the Embroidered Uniform Guard.'

Xiang Yeyun approached Jiang Yun and said coldly, "See that? This..."

Jiang Yun glanced back at Xiang Yeyun and said slowly, "What do you see? Miss Xiang, I know your mother is heartbroken and disoriented, but think about it carefully. With my intelligence, would I leave such blatant evidence after killing all these people?"

"Isn't this clearly a frame-up?"

"Would our Embroidered Uniform Guard do something so stupid?"

Xiang Yeyun gave Jiang Yun a cold look and said, "Haven't you Embroidered Uniform Guards done enough?"

Jiang Yun turned to look at Qi Da.

Qi Da whispered in Jiang Yun's ear, "My lord... we in the Embroidered Uniform Guard really do have this kind of habit..."

"Many rebels and their entire families were killed by our Embroidered Uniform Guards, and they would leave behind a sentence on the ground: This is the fate of rebels. Or some... thieves who offended our Embroidered Uniform Guards, after we killed them all, would also leave behind such a sentence."

"It's mainly to deter other petty thieves."

Jiang Yun's face darkened instantly, and she glared fiercely at Qi Da: "What the hell are these bad habits? Get rid of them!"

“Yes, from now on, when you kill someone, you will not leave your name…” Zidane nodded.

Then, Jiang Yun turned back to look at Ye Yun somewhat awkwardly: "But this has nothing to do with us."

"Look, everyone was killed by a master swordsman with a single blow. You can't find a master in the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard who could kill all the members of the Xiang family so silently."

"I can do it, but I'm not an expert with a knife."

Meanwhile, the body was quickly examined, and the five Imperial Guards responsible for the autopsy quickly gathered to discuss and verify the findings.

reached a conclusion.

"Reporting to your Excellency, although all the fatal wounds were knife wounds, the killer was not a skilled knife user; at the very least, the primary method of killing was not using a knife."

"The knife wounds of all the victims were clean, as if they had all been restrained before the knife-wielder slit their throats."

"Furthermore, in order to conceal his methods, the killer deliberately held the knife with his left hand."

“A normal person holding a knife should hold it with their right hand, and the wound mark should also run from left to right.”

"But these wounds are the complete opposite."

"Moreover, one of the corpses is extremely strange. We asked around and the deceased was named Xiang Gen. He was a third-rank expert in the Xiang family and was mainly responsible for teaching the Xiang family's martial arts techniques."

"Although this person also has a knife wound on his neck, there is a palm print on his chest, which is the fatal wound."

"All of his ribs were shattered..."

"Based on preliminary assessment, this person's cultivation level should be at the peak of the second rank, or has already reached the first rank."

"Make good use of palm techniques, rather than knife techniques."

Hearing the report from the Imperial Guards present, Jiang Yun hurriedly looked at Xiang Yeyun beside him and added, "I'm not good at using my palm either..."

Xiang Huang was somewhat surprised, not expecting that these Imperial Guards were actually quite capable. Upon learning the news, he rushed back immediately and took charge of investigating the cause of death.

However, he didn't think too much about it and simply sent people to search for suspicious people in the vicinity of Yanzhou City.

Jiang Yun nodded with satisfaction and glanced at Qi Da.

After a moment of silence, Zidane said, "Bring back all the occupancy records from the inns on the night of the murder."

"Would the inn's records be of any use?" Xiang Yeyun asked, frowning. "Yanzhou City is so large, with countless merchants coming and going. How could we possibly find them..."

"This is the only way we can use to filter out the most suspicious people," Zidane said in a deep voice. "In this kind of headless murder case, finding the real culprit is like searching for a needle in a haystack."

(End of this chapter)